


Speak

by BeneathTheOperaHouse



Category: Pokemon Black and White
Genre: F/M, Pokemon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-28
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2017-12-06 18:46:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeneathTheOperaHouse/pseuds/BeneathTheOperaHouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Touko has a gift, the ability to speak with Pokemon. When Professor Juniper asks her to complete the Pokedex; Touko sets off on the journey of a lifetime, and she meets a young man not too different from herself along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Steps of a Journey

\/\/\/\/ _ **Speak**_ \/\/\/\/

" _Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me,_  


_Why should you not speak to me? And why should I not speak to you?"_

_~Walt Whitman~_

\/\/\/\/\/\/ **Chapter 1: The First Steps of a Journey** \/\/\/\/\/\/

I've known Cheren and Bianca my entire life. From the moment Bianca's family moved to Nuvema town, we have been the best of friends, just us three… and before he left on his own journey, my elder brother, Touya. My little sister Mei never really hung out with us. But it was really always just the three of us. Cheren was the smart one, he always got straight A's in school, and the teachers were thrilled at how quickly he learned. I can't say the same for Bianca and me. Bianca was often described by my brother as a flibbertigibbet. She may have been overprotected by her father and older sister, but nevertheless, she was always fun to be around. And she wore a green hat that was shaped like the top of an acorn, gotta love that.

I was different from the moment I met Cheren and Bianca. I always knew so, considering that I can speak to pokemon. Yes, you read correctly. I can understand pokemon, and they can understand me. The talent came from nowhere when my mother found an injured Patrat just outside Nuvema Town on Route 1 as she went for her daily berry picking. As my mother wrapped the poor creature's broken arm and sprayed a super potion on it to speed up the healing process, I said hello to it—and it said hello back. That was only the beginning. When I asked my mother why I could understand pokemon, she told me that my father could also understand pokemon, so I must have inherited it. That was weird though, because Touya and Mei didn't have it...My father left when I was 6 or so; I haven't seen him in years, but mom says that that he lives in Kanto with his second wife.

When the town Professor, Juniper, told the three of us that we would be getting our very own pokemon, my first question was which one should I get? Should I get the Oshawatt that could easily take down any fire type? Or the Snivy who could learn awesome moves such as Leaf Blade and Leaf Storm? Or what about the little Tepig who would eventually evolve into the mighty Emboar? So many awesome pokemon to choose from and only one would be my first. So I decided to speak to each one, and whichever one wanted it most would stay with me.

I was sleeping in that morning, considering I had not actually fallen asleep until about 3AM because I was riddled with excitement for the next day. I truthfully don't know why my mother decided to let Cheren into the house either, but she did, and his mop of dark hair was the first thing I saw as I cracked my eyes open and squinted at the light. His glasses reflected out his anticipation and, oh great, not only had he barged into my room, but he had turned on the lights as well.

"Good Moooorrrrning Touko!" he exclaimed. "Are you ready for the big day?" I didn't respond, I only waved my hand at him so that I could close my eyes even tighter, and then I remembered that all I was wearing was a sports bra and short shorts.

"Cheren get out of here!" I moaned loudly. He backed up as I sat up in bed and he got a good look at my clothing… or lack of it.

"I'll uh… be downstairs, call me up when you're ready…" he muttered as he turned and headed towards the staircase. Even while squinting, I could tell that he had been blushing. Great, that was the _last_ thing I needed this morning. Now where'd I put my baseball cap?

Cheren paced across the floor, taking the exact same number of steps in one direction before pivoting on his foot and turning in the other direction. I simply watched him as he faced the staircase, groaning, and going back to pacing again. He made his way over to me and we stared at the large blue gift box with a green bow on top. Cheren looked as if he wanted to tear the box open.

"What's keeping Bianca?" he complained loudly, tapping his foot on the ground. Suddenly we heard footsteps and turned to see the green acorn hat appear at the top of the stairs. Bianca stepped off the top step and gave a nervous grin.

"Am I little bit late again?" she asked. Cheren practically ran over to her and got up in her face.

"Yes! You are!" he yelled. I grinned nervously, staying out of the conversation when Cheren got into one of his moods.

"So-oooo-orry!" Bianca cried. "Dad was being asinine again, and I had to convince him that I was going to be okay if I simply walked over to Touko's house but he was dead set. So I snuck out the window!" she explained hastily.

"Bianca…" Cheren groaned. "I've known for 10 years that you have no sense of time but… seriously…"

"It wasn't my fault!" Bianca countered.

"You've known about this day for two weeks now! We finally get our first pokemon from Professor Juniper! I would think that's important enough to convince your father."

"Cheren cut it out. She's here isn't she?" I finally piped up. Cheren turned to me and nodded.

"You're right, I'm sorry for yelling Bianca," he apologized.

"I'm sorry too Touko, Cheren… I'll try to be more punctual in the future!" she said. I watched as Cheren suppressed a snort. Bianca walked around him and over to the table where the gift box lay. "Are the pokemon in here?" she asked excitedly.

"That's what it looks like," Cheren said.

"I think since the Professor brought it to Touko's house that she should get first pick!" Bianca said. "What do you think Cheren?" Both of us looked over at Cheren, who looked as if he wanted to protest. I could tell that he tried to cover it up with a smirk.

"Naturally," he said.

"Nice recovery," I said half-jokingly.

"Thank you very much… Now open the box!" Cheren said. I will admit that I was nervous as I lifted the lid off the gift box and looked down inside. There were labels on each one, so that we'd know which pokemon is which. I was having a hard time deciding.

"Would you guys mind if I let all three out?" I asked turning around to face my friends.

"That's fine with me," Cheren said.

"Me too!" Bianca added in.

Although they didn't know about my gift, I was glad that they were so willing to oblige to my wish. I tossed all three pokeballs into the air and the three rare starters all stood between us. The Oshawatt stared up at the three of us before cringing behind Tepig. Tepig didn't bother to push it away. Snivy stood off on its own, smug and proud.

"Hey there Snivy" I said to him, looking up at Cheren and Bianca to make sure that they hadn't realized what I was doing. Bianca was too busy cooing over Oshawatt to care at the moment. I turned back to Snivy.

" _Who are you?"_ Snivy grunted at me in and exasperated tone.

"Well, we're new trainers," I replied, crouching down by Snivy. "Do you want to join me on my journey?" I asked it nicely.

" _Are those two my other choices of who to go with?"_ Snivy grunted, gesturing to Cheren and Bianca.

"Uh yeah…" I began, following Snivy's gaze.

" _Sure, I'll go with you,"_ Snivy said proudly. I smiled and collected it up in my arms, only to get hissed at. _"But NEVER pick me up!_ " he growled. I set Snivy down and he stood at my leg.

"You picked Snivy?" Cheren asked. "It seems like he doesn't like you very much." I rolled my eyes at Cheren.

"Can I have Oshawatt?" Bianca pleaded. "Please, Please, Please, Please, Pllllleeeeeaaaaassseee?" she begged. I laughed at her persistence as she held the little water pokemon in her arms and hugged it.

"I don't see why not," Cheren and I said in unison. The Oshawatt looked very happy with its new trainer.

"I guess that means you're with me Tepig," Cheren said looking down at the fire pig.

" _That's cool,"_ the Tepig grunted. I smiled, even though Cheren didn't hear him say that. Bianca looked around excitedly.

"Everyone has chosen a pokemon! So that's that," she said happily. Cheren nodded and looked down at his Tepig, while Snivy looked up at me. "I know! Let's have a battle!" she said. "It'll be so much fun!"

"Honestly Bianca, even though they are still weak pokemon, you shouldn't have pokemon battles inside a house!" he reasoned. Bianca pouted and looked down at the Oshawatt in her arms, I could sense that the little guy wanted to battle.

"I don't see an issue with it," I said. "What do you say Snivy?" I asked, looking down at him.

" _I've always wanted to battle a pokemon that's weaker by nature…"_ he said, nodding his head.

"I guess it's settled then!" Bianca stated proudly, setting her Oshawatt on the ground. "Besides, pokemon can't get stronger unless you train them, right? I challenge you Touko!" she cried excitedly. Cheren and Tepig stepped back as we prepared to fight. "You get first move Touko!" Bianca said.

"Alright then uh… Snivy use tackle!" I called out. My Snivy sprinted forward towards Bianca's Oshawatt.

" _With pleasure_ " it grunted.

"Ah! Oshawatt! Dodge it!" she called, but it was too late, Snivy had gotten it in the side. "Ouch! I won't let you get away with that! Oshawatt use tackle too!"

"Dodge it Snivy!" I called out, but nevertheless Snivy took a small amount of damage. "Tackle!"

"You too Oshawatt!" Bianca yelled. This went on for some time, Oshawatt and Snivy tackling each other, slowly lowering the health of each other. Finally Snivy and Oshawatt were back on their respective sides, both panting.

"Think you can pull one more tackle Snivy?" I asked it.

" _You bet!"_ It said before tackling Oshawatt. Bianca didn't even have time to issue a command. Oshawatt fell to the ground defeated.

"The winner is Touko and Snivy!" Cheren called out like a real referee. "Man I've always wanted to say that!"

"Oh Oshawatt I'm so sorry!" Bianca said, crouching by her fallen friend. The Oshawatt smiled up at her and cuddled in close. The bond was already forming, I could tell. "Wow Touko, you're so good! You're going to be an awesome trainer someday, I can tell!" I smiled.

"Uh… Bianca have you taken a look around?" Cheren pointed out. Bianca raised her head and finally took a good look around the room.

"W-whoa! What happened?" she asked clueless. I laughed at her reaction and eventually Cheren was chuckling as well. "Who knew such small pokemon could cause so much damage? Sorry about your room Touko," she said.

"It's okay, not a big deal," I reassured her.

"You… are completely hopeless," Cheren said, spraying what looked like a potion on Bianca's Oshawatt.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are TOO!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

The arguing went on like this for a little while before I finally looked down at Snivy.

" _Are they always like this?_ " it asked me.

"Yup…" I told it. Cheren turned around and sprayed a potion on Snivy, then ether. Snivy looked content as Cheren tended to it.

"There, you're all better Snivy," Cheren told it. Suddenly, Bianca gave a big grin to the both of us.

"Hey Cheren! You should battle too!" she exclaimed as if she had just found a cure for cancer. "With all you know, I'm sure you can battle without turning the room into a disaster area like I did!"

"I believe you're right. I mean, how could it get any worse?" Cheren replied. I rolled my eyes and stared at Snivy again. "Besides, it's not fair if you guys are the only ones who get to battle right?"

"Cheren, you've convinced us… stop presenting evidence," I told him.

"Then it's decided… you'll be my opponent in our first pokemon battle!" Cheren told me. I looked down at Snivy for approval.

" _Eh, one more couldn't hurt. Let's do it!_ " Snivy said in a determined tone. We faced each other and Tepig jumped out in front of Cheren.

"Let's see what you can do Tepig!" Cheren stated proudly. "You first Touko because I challenged you!" Cheren called.

"Alright Snivy, let's hit it with a tackle!" I said.

"You too Tepig, let's go!" Cheren said. Both pokemon charged at each other and hit head on. We exchanged tackles a few more times, managing to stay contained on the lopsided carpet.

"Again Snivy, you can do it!" I called out as Tepig charged for another attack which Snivy dodged expertly before getting Tepig over the back.

"Use Tail Whip Tepig!" Cheren called, "Get Snivy off of your back!" As Snivy flew into the air it stared at me.

"Use tackle again Snivy, finish it!" I called out. Snivy landed on top of Tepig again and knocked it to the ground.

"Ah! Touko and Snivy win again!" Bianca called out nervously. Snivy glowed for a second.

"What was that?" I asked it.

" _I just grew a level, I'm stronger now!"_ Snivy replied happily. Cheren smirked.

"That was simply a blunder, don't expect me to lose next time!" he said while spraying a potion on Tepig. I smiled and patted Snivy on the head. "I can't believe that I'm finally a trainer…" he muttered.

"It feels good, doesn't it Cheren?" Bianca asked.

"It really does!" he said, looking around the room. "I think we should go apologize to your mother for the messed up room though…" Cheren finished, taking Tepig and putting it back in its capsule.

"Oh! I had better come too!" Bianca said, putting away Oshawatt and walking after Cheren. I stayed where I was and looked at Snivy.

"What do you say Snivy, should I keep you in your pokeball or no?" I asked it.

" _May I stay out?_ " it asked. " _No one has ever offered that to me before"_

"Well I just did, would you like to stay out of your ball?" I asked.

" _That would be most appreciated._ " Snivy said.

"Then it's settled. Come on, let's go meet the others downstairs," I told it. Snivy gave a single head nod before following me down the stairs.

* * *

"I'm very sorry for all of the trouble Mrs. White," Cheren was apologizing as I reached the bottom step.

"Me too!" Bianca piped up. "We can um… we can clean up…" she added.

"Cleaning up? No worries you two. I can take care of it later." My mom said. Gosh, my mom was so cool. "Besides, shouldn't you be on your way to meet up with the Professor right now?"

"Yes, thank you! Please excuse us," Cheren said respectfully, making his way to the front door. He turned to face me before leaving. "I'll see you there Touko!" he said. "Are you coming too Bianca?"

"Yes! But, I need to go home first." Bianca said. "Thank you for having us over Mrs. White!" she told my mom before leaving with Cheren. As soon as they left, my mom made her way over to me.

"My, my Touko, pokemon battles are so lively aren't they? I could hear them all the way down here!" she told me. "It reminds me of the first pokemon battle I ever had. It was me VS your father, his Eevee and my Charmander. Oh well, there's no time for that now, do you want me to heal your cute little Snivy?" she asked.

"Sure mom, that'd be great, thanks," I told her as my mom sprayed a homemade full restore on Snivy.

"There, Snivy is looking great!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Wow, you two are so good for each other. I'm so proud of you sweetie."

"Thanks mom, I'm going to head to Professor Juniper's now, okay?" I told her, beginning to walk away.

"Do you have your cross-transceiver?" she asked. I held up my wrist to show it to her. "Alright then… have fun, say hi to Juniper for me!"

"Will do mom!" I called back, closing the door behind me.

* * *

The first steps of a journey are always some of the hardest. You are stepping away from the comfort of what you know, and the familiarities that you grew up around. But the thought that you are breaking away and becoming a true adult is the best reward that one can receive from such a journey. Even more so was how nerve racking the first step outside of my house, even though I had been outside hundreds of times. This time, I was stepping out as a real Pokemon trainer! I saw a flock of Pidove flying around the town, and the little kids playing with a Patrat, most likely wild. I made my way over to the lab, but Cheren hadn't gone in yet.

"Hey Touko, Bianca said she had to go home for a bit, but she isn't back yet. Can you go see what's taking her?"

"Why can't you go?" I asked him.

"Her father hates me. It's why we had to break up four months back," Cheren said. "Can you go check on her, please?" he pleaded. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, I'll go get her…" I said, leaving Cheren in front of the lab and running towards Bianca's house with Snivy close behind.

When I got there, the door was open slightly, and I could hear yelling from the inside.

"NO, NO, A THOUSAND TIMES NO!" her father's voice echoed as I entered the house. Bianca looked as if she was about to cry, holding onto Oshawatt for dear life as if her father was going to rip it from her arms.

"But daddy! I'm … I'm a good trainer who got a pokemon and everything!" she argued.

"Just because you have a pokemon doesn't make you a trainer Bianca!" her father countered. "I said no, you can't go and that's final!" Bianca's mother walked over to her father and began talking to him. Bianca turned to me and walked over.

"Oh… Touko. I'm sorry you had to see that. Everything is okay, really! Let's go thank the Professor," she told me, turning back around to face her furious father. I nodded slowly and followed Bianca out of her house, closing the door behind me.

"Bianca, I'm a bit worried… is everything okay with you and your dad?"

"Yeah, he's just overprotective. It doesn't help that I'm a bit stubborn sometimes. It's just, this is really important to me… and he doesn't understand that," she explained. "Come on, let's go to the lab," she said. I didn't argue, but simply followed her, Snivy by my side.

" _I feel kind of bad for her and Oshawatt…_ " Snivy told me as we walked.

"Yeah well, not all families are perfect. She's a good friend and I care about her," I replied.

" _I'm glad you care,_ " Snivy said as we approached the lab where Cheren and Bianca waited.

"Hey Touko, why isn't Snivy in its pokeball?" Cheren asked as we approached.

"He doesn't want to be in there, so he doesn't have to be in there," I said simply. "Are we going to go in or what?"

"Ah, yeah… we should probably go in," Bianca said. Cheren nodded and opened the door for the both of us, closing it behind him. We all walked into the spacious laboratory, where machines of all kinds lined the walls. A tall brunette woman in a white lab coat typed something into a computer and three handhelds popped out of a machine next to the computer. She gathered them up and turned to face us.

"Ah, good you're here! I've been waiting for you three," the woman said. I stared at the handhelds that she clutched in her arms, and then at the Minccino on her side. Snivy nodded it's acknowledgement to the other pokemon. "Let me introduce myself again, I'm…"

"Professor Juniper? We know your name," Cheren interrupted. The professor rolled her eyes at Cheren, who had gained all three of our angered glares.

"Come on Cheren, this is not the time to be snarky," Juniper stated. "This is a big deal for all three of you. You should behave with at least _some_ formality." Cheren crossed his arms over his chest and grunted. We all turned our attention back to the professor, waiting for her to continue. "That being said, again… My name is Professor Juniper, and I have devoted my life to researching when and how pokemon came into existence," she finished, walking around and handing out the little handheld machines. She looked at my Snivy for moment. "Well that's unusual…" she added. "Have you three already battled with your pokemon?"

"Yeah, we're sorry…" Bianca apologized.

"No need to be dear, that's perfectly okay. In fact it makes my job a lot easier. By the way, would you like to give your pokemon a nickname?" she asked us. I looked at Snivy, who had already raised his head.

"What do you think of Smugleaf?" I asked Snivy.

" _ **Percy**_ **,** " Snivy said to me sternly.

"I like the name Percy," I told Juniper quickly and nervously. Snivy looked very happy with my decision to call him by his name. Only we knew that he had intimidated me into it.

"What an interesting name, very well. Percy it is!" Juniper said excitedly. "Would you two like to name your pokemon as well?" she asked my friends.

"I like the name Watt, because I have an Oshawatt," she said. Cheren rolled his eyes.

"How original," he groaned.

"Oh and I suppose that you could come up with something better?" she responded angrily.

"I have, my Tepig's name is King, which unlike a name like Watt actually describes my pokemon," Cheren said.

"King is no more original than Watt!" Bianca argued. I put my fingers on either of their forehead to prevent their foreheads from touching.

"Guys, cut it out!" I cried. Professor Juniper straightened her lab coat and stood tall as Cheren and Bianca calmed down. She gestured to the devices in our hands and began to talk again.

"The reason I've called you here today and given you pokemon is in your hands. This is…"

"The latest version of the pokedex!" Cheren cooed happily, opening the machine's cover and powering it on.

"A pokedex… is that what this thing is?" Bianca asked, confused.

"I am astonished, well done Cheren!" Juniper praised. "Yes, this is the pokedex version 5.0; it has everything you need to successfully record the data on every pokemon in Unova. The only issue is that you have to catch the pokemon to get all the data." I flicked open the cover of my device and scanned Percy with it.

" **Snivy, the grass snake pokemon,"** the machine said. **"It is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to lots of sunlight makes its movements swifter"** the machine also displayed move information and level.

"You're level 6 already Percy, that's impressive!" I praised him.

" _I hope it stays sunny out today_ " Percy told me simply.

"Touko, Cheren, Bianca, my request to you is to complete the Unova pages. See the world, meet pokemon and people alike. You can also fight gym leaders and maybe even the champion! Will you do that for me?"

"Yes," all three of us said in unison. Juniper clapped her hands together happily and made her way forward.

"That's great to hear you guys! I need to grab a few things, but I want to teach you some basics. Meet me on Route 1, okay?"

"We're on it professor!" Cheren responded for the three of us. The Professor smiled at us and then she left.

"Well, since we were asked to… I guess that means I can go on an adventure. Right?" Bianca asked as the door closed.

"I don't see why you couldn't," Cheren said. "I want to be the pokemon champion!"

"That's aiming pretty high Cheren, think you can handle it?" I asked half-jokingly. His face formed into a determined expression.

"I know I can do it!" he exclaimed. "Come on; let's go meet the professor on Route 1!"

I walked out of the lab with Cheren and Bianca close behind me. The first thing I saw was my mother on the path outside the lab.

"Hey you guys, what did the professor have to say?" she asked us eagerly.

"She asked us to complete the Unova pokedex!" Bianca responded excitedly.

"That's great you three! Even though I knew she was going to ask. So I bought you these town maps, there's one here for each of you! Now you'll never get lost!" she said, handing us each a map.

"Thanks mom!" I said, opening it and looking at the map.

"Thank you Mrs. White, I'll take good care of it!" Cheren said.

"Th-thank you so much Mrs. White!" Bianca said as she examined hers.

"We're going to take off Touko, meet you at Route 1!" Cheren said, walking off with Bianca. I was about to follow them when my mom stopped me.

"And Touko, don't worry about your room… or what's left of it… I'll tidy it up since I know how busy you are. Okay?"

"Okay mom, thanks so much!" I said, hugging her tightly around her waist.

"I'll miss you Touko. Please don't forget to call your mother every once in a while! Have a great trip darling," she said. I smiled at her before jogging off to join Cheren and Bianca. I noticed them staring out at Route 1, silently.

"Hey guys, are we going to go or what?" I called out. Bianca turned around and walked over to me.

"Bianca says that if we're starting a journey together that we should take our first step together…" Cheren said in an annoyed tone.

"I think it'll be cool, but Cheren doesn't!" Bianca said with a pout.

"Come on Cheren, join us! It'll be fun," I pleaded.

"Fine… come on you two," Cheren said. We all locked hands and "One… two…" Bianca said slowly.

"THREE!" we all said together while taking our first official step onto Route 1. To the average person, it wasn't anything truly special, but it was to me. The first step of our journey together had begun!

"Oooohhhh, this is so exciting!" Bianca said happily in a squealing voice. "I wonder what will happen!"

"It sure is!" Cheren added. "C'mon, I see the professor waiting for us up ahead!" he said, sprinting ahead of us to join the professor by the tall grass. She waited patiently, smiling as we approached her.

"Sorry we kept you waiting professor," Cheren said apologetically.

"Not an issue, now that we are all here, let me teach you how to catch a pokemon!" she said, "Follow me please!" we all followed her into the grass where almost on cue a Patrat appeared. Bianca flipped open her pokedex and scanned it.

"Patrat, level two," she stated, watching as Professor Juniper sent out the Minccino from earlier. The Patrat looked ready to fight.

"Alright Minccino, use a tackle attack!" Juniper commanded. I watched intently as Juniper weakened the Patrat before grabbing a capsule from her side and tossed it. The ball leaned once, twice, three times, before settling on the ground with a click. "And there you have it. You have to lower HP, and then throw the ball. Pokemon with all of their energy are harder to catch than those with lowered. You could always paralyze it with an electric move, or make it fall asleep with yawn or another type of move. To wrap this up, I have a gift of 5 pokeballs for each of you." She said. "I'm going on ahead to Accumula Town, meet you there!" the professor said, walking away without another word. I turned to Cheren, then Bianca. We stayed silent for a little bit. Snivy looked up between us.

" _Why is it so quiet? I don't like this… it feels weird_ " he whined.

"She forgot to mention that pokemon appear in tall grass…" Cheren finally said. "But I feel that was too obvious. I think I'll head to Accumula Town before it gets too dark out."

"Yeah, I can't wait to get there and go shopping for Pokeballs!" Bianca added. Cheren began to stride away towards the tall grass. "Wait a second!" she called out. "Hey Touko, Cheren, I just had a great idea! We…"

"Bored already… It's getting dark and the professor is waiting for us!" Cheren said.

"Would you _listen_ for two seconds? I think we should have a pokemon catching contest! It would help the professor and we could fill Pokedex pages! The one with the most pokemon by the time we reach Accumula Town is the winner!" she explained.

"I see… That could be fun I suppose," Cheren said thoughtfully. "Very well, let's have a contest. But for now if we need to heal our pokemon we need to go back to our own houses. See you there Touko!" Cheren said, finally walking through the grass.

" _You guys are going to compete to see how many pokemon you can catch? I don't approve of that…_ " Snivy said as soon as my friends were out of earshot.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I say the more friends the better," I replied. "Come on Percy, I need your help for this."

" _I'll have you know that it is wrong to capture pokemon for sport. I willingly was captured and now I am cared for by you,"_ he said. _"We should go anyway; your geeky friend was right about it getting dark,"_ I took that moment to look up at the sky and seeing the setting sun.

"Alright, come on… let's get going," I told him.

* * *

We made our way slowly through the tall grass, looking for wild pokemon to battle and hopefully catch. I had 5 useable pokeballs, so I had to be very strategic about how I used them as I was thinking; a wild Lillipup appeared and began barking at us.

" _Hey trespasser! I wanna fight!"_ it growled. I looked expectantly at Snivy who nodded and jumped in front of me.

"Go Percy, use tackle!" I commanded, watching as Percy attacked the Lillipup head on. It jumped back and only took a small amount of damage, using what looked like a leer attack on Snivy who couldn't defend itself against the attack. "Again Percy!" I called out as my Snivy attacked with more power than before. Lillipup still stood, but it was visibly weakened. I pulled a pokeball out of my bag and tossed it at the Lillipup. It rolled once to the left, twice to the right, and then the third time to the left before settling on the ground with a click. My first caught pokemon! I walked over and picked up the ball, tossing it into the air and releasing my new companion. I pulled out my pokedex and scanned the little dog to get information.

" **Lillipup. The puppy pokemon. It faces strong opponents with great courage. But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent pokemon flees"** Came the electronic voice from my handheld. It was a level two and knew leer and tackle just like Percy.

"Hi Lillipup, do you have a name you want me to call you?" I asked it.

" _I like the name Dante."_

"So your name is Dante?" I asked it.

" _Yup!"_ it barked happily. " _Wait… you can understand me?"_ it asked, thoroughly confused.

"I can… don't know why, but I can," I told it. "It's nice to meet you Dante."

" _You too mommy!"_ it said happily.

" _Did Dante just call you… mommy?_ " Percy asked me.

"I think so…" I said. Suddenly, a Patrat ran at us full force, using tackle on Percy. He bounced back a bit, skidding in the grass.

" _Please let me kick its butt!"_ Percy pleaded to me. I nodded and he went with a tackle on the Patrat. It took some damage but not a lot. Percy attacked again and this time it did more damage. Percy hit one more time and the Patrat started panting. I took out a pokeball as Percy was about to attack again.

"Percy wait I want to catch it!" I called, throwing the pokeball. It too rolled on the ground three times before giving me a satisfied click. Percy and Dante followed me to the pokeball where I simply hit the button and took out Patrat. I reopened my pokedex and was greeted by the electronic voice.

" **Patrat. The scout pokemon. Using food stored in cheek pouches, they can keep watch for days. They use their tails to communicate with others."**

"Good to know…" I muttered, putting away my pokedex and crouching by my newest companion. "Hi there Patrat, what's your name?" I asked.

" _The name's Scout."_ It said quickly.

"Very well, nice to meet you Scout. This is Percy and Dante, they are also joining us on my journey," I explained to it.

" _Nice to meet you guys too,"_ Scout said.

" _As much as I want to have other companions, I think we should get out of the tall grass._ " Percy said. I nodded and all four of us made our way out of the grass. I returned the others to their capsules and stared down at Percy.

"Thank you."

" _For what?"_ it asked. " _I didn't do anything really."_

"You battled at my command, I'm proud of you Percy," I told it. "Come on; let's go catch up with Bianca and Cheren."

" _I'm cool with that…"_ Percy said, following me as I made my way down the path.

As soon as Bianca and Cheren came into my line of vision, I started jogging. I don't know why I did, but the urge to do so was too great. I went up to Bianca who tapped her foot patiently on the dirt path.

"Ah Touko you're here! How about it, do you want to compare which one of us has the most pokemon with them?" she asked.

"Yeah sure, let's count them up," I said. I held out all three of my pokeballs, even though only two of them were currently full.

"Wow, 3? That's awesome! Are you excited to have that many Pokemon with you?" she asked me.

"Meh, I suppose," I told her, my gaze falling on Percy in the process.

"Well I'm off to Accumula Town! The professor is waiting." Cheren said. Suddenly all three of our Cross-Transceivers began ringing simultaneously. I hit the "answer button" and Juniper's face graced the screen along with mine, Bianca's, and Cheren's.

"Hello! How is everybody doing?" Juniper asked from the other end.

"Ah Professor, everything is going well! Where in Accumula Town are you?" Bianca asked.

"I'm in front of the pokemon center. I have more things to explain to you, so hurry on over everybody!" she said. Then the line died.

"Well, I'm going on ahead then," Cheren stated, walking away with Bianca. I made my way after them and onto a gray stone path. I saw the ever famous pokemon center and the Professor stood right in front of the doors. I made my way over to her.

"Ah, Touko! There you are!" she said. "I need to explain a couple of things to you, come on in!" she said. The automatic double doors of the Center opened and I followed her into the brightly lit room. A woman with pink hair stood behind a counter, and I noticed Bianca making small talk with the woman.

"Hi girls, and professor, I'm Nurse Joy," the woman said in introduction. "If you ever need your pokemon healed then see me or my sisters in any pokemon center and we'll be glad to help you out!" she said.

"The cool thing about Pokemon Centers is that they heal pokemon for free!" Juniper piped up. "Why don't you give it a try Touko, your Snivy is looking a bit tired out." I was happy to oblige as I picked up Snivy and placed him along with my other two pokeballs on the counter.

"Alright, that'll be just a moment!" Nurse Joy said happily while taking my pokemon and putting them on a huge machine. A minute or so later, Nurse Joy set the pokeballs on the counter. "Thank you for waiting. Your pokemon are good as new! We hope to see you again!" I release Snivy from his capsule and he stretched.

" _Wow, I feel so much better now!"_ he said in a content tone. _"Thanks."_

"No prob Percy," I replied, turning back to Juniper who had obviously caught me talking to Percy.

"Okay, now I get to show you how to use the PC at a center!" she said happily, leading us over to a computer on the counter. She turned it on and selected a "Someone's PC" option. "This is the pokemon storage system. Since you can only have up to six pokemon with you at a time, all the extras are sent to your PC!"

"Professor, it says 'Someone's PC' on the screen. Who is Someone?" Bianca asked.

"Isn't it the person who invented the PC storage system?" I asked.

"Yes it is, Touko. That's a great observation, Bianca. But for now just ignore that and use the settings provided."

"Okay…" Bianca said.

"Let's move on shall we?" Juniper asked us three. She led us to another counted against the wall where two men in aprons stood silently. "This is the mart where you can get supplies such as pokeballs, potions, and you can also sell things you don't need."

"Cool!" Bianca cooed at the mart, looking at the displays of stuff she could buy.

"Well you two, I think that's about it. I'm going to head back to Nuvema Town."

"Okay thanks Professor," Bianca said happily.

"Oh and one last thing Touko… when you reach Striaton City go meet an inventor named Fennel, she's a friend of mine from long ago and I'm sure she'll be able to tell you a few pointers."

"Okay, thanks!" I said. The professor nodded and left the center.

"I'm going to find Cheren, okay?" I told Bianca who was still cooing at the display case.

"Okay…bye," Bianca said in a mesmerized tone. I rolled my eyes and walked outside the center, seeing a couple of men talking.

"Sounds like something is going on in the plaza!" one of them said.

"Well let's have a little look-see," the other said, following his friend to the town square. I decided to follow quickly and quietly when there indeed was something going on in the square. I saw Cheren in the front row, and he turned and saw me.

"Hey Touko, come here a sec," he said. We both turned to face a menacing man in an orange cloak. He had tea green hair and what looked like a robotic eye.

"My name is Ghetsis…" he began. "I am here representing Team Plasma and today ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about pokemon liberation," he said. This elicited some mutters from the crowd as they all turned back to the creepy man. "I'm sure that most of you believe that we humans and pokemon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other," he continued.

"Because we do!" Cheren called out rashly. The man, Ghetsis skulked over to Cheren.

"Do you really believe that's the truth boy? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans only _assume_ that this is the truth?"

"It IS the truth," Cheren countered.

"Pokemon are subject to the selfish commands of trainers… they get pushed around when they are our "partners at work… can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?" he asked directly. The crowd began to murmur again. I admit that it was somewhat true… but… "Now ladies and gentlemen pokemon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called pokemon?" he asked. The crowd murmured something that sounded like the word, liberation. "That's right! We must liberate the pokemon! Then and only Then will humans and pokemon truly be equal. I end my words today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and pokemon…and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention," the man finished as the cronies in gray behind him formed a block around him and left the scene. The crowd began to murmur and chat about what had just happened. Cheren looked at the ground.

"I need time to think Touko, I'll see you at the center in a bit…" he said, walking away, leaving me and Percy alone.

" _Trainer, what's liberation?"_ Percy asked me.

"Why did you just call me trainer?" I asked in return.

" _Because I don't know your name and I like it better than 'mommy'"_ Percy said.

"My name is Touko…" I said.

" _I prefer Trainer… Trainer what's liberation?"_ I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"It's where they take you away from me and release you forever to fend for yourself," I told him. Snivy's eyes widened and it clung onto my leg for dear life.

" _I don't want to be liberated…I want to stay with you trainer!"_ Percy said. Suddenly a boy with the same tea green hair as the man from earlier, wearing a black and white baseball cap, white over-shirt, black turtle neck and tan pants walked over to me.

"Your pokemon... just now it was saying…" the boy said, examining my Snivy.

"Whoa dude, you talk too fast!" I said. "And yes I know he was talking. I was explaining to him what liberation was."

"Oh? You can hear it too then?" he asked. "I'm impressed… My name is N."

"Just N? Is it short for something?" I asked.

"No, it's just N," he replied.

"I'm Touko White, and this is my Snivy, Percy," I said in introduction. "I was asked to complete the pokedex and I just left on my journey today!"

"The pokedex, eh?" N questioned. "So you're going to confine many, many pokemon in pokeballs for that, then… I may be a trainer as well, but I can't help wondering…are they really happy that way?"

"I suppose it depends on how caring the trainer is…" I replied.

"Thoughtful answer. Well, Touko is it? Let me hear your Pokémon's voice again!" he said, sending out a Purrloin.

"Wait what? You want to battle?" I asked. N simply nodded.

"Okay… go Percy, let's take him down!" I called out.

The real battle had only just begun.


	2. To Find a Hero

 

\/\/\/\/ _ **Speak**_ \/\/\/\/

" _A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere_

_And endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."_

_~Christopher Reeve~_

\/\/\/\/\/\/ **Chapter 2: To Find a Hero** \/\/\/\/\/\/

My mission was simple. To find the hero of Reshiram. The truth was it wasn't even _my_ mission, it was my father's. But he insisted since he was set that I was somehow Zekrom's hero. My father's group (I call it a cult behind his back) crowned me king...but I never truly knew what I was king of. The sages often spoke of Team Plasma (the name of the group I suppose) and I knew that their goal was to help the pokemon. I believed in helping my friends to be happy. They wouldn't have to listen to orders anymore and they'd be free. And before anything else I must explain that we don't confine pokemon to pokeballs here. They help us of our own free will. The only pokemon that we keep in pokeballs are kept out unless in transit. We have a large open room for them to play and the ones we take are willing. The question that had always plagued my mind is why my father wasn't the king. He ultimately made all the decisions anyway. All I ever did was sign papers and go to boring meetings with the other 6 sages. Sage meetings that I often fell asleep in. I never truly found the meetings interesting enough to pay attention to. But when the sages told me about the hero, I knew that something big was about to happen…

"Sage Ghetsis, we've known for several months now that our King is Zekrom's hero. He needs to find the other…" Bronius said sternly. My father hadn't budged as the other Sages did the arguing for him.

"Ye Bronius, but why does N need to decide? We can pluck any old trainer off the streets and call them a hero. We don't need the king to decide that. Besides, he has only ever known pokemon. Sending him out into the outside world like that is dangerous, not to mention crazy," another sage, Gorm, said.

"We can send Kurro with him; it isn't like he'll ever truly be alone. There are what, 400 Plasma grunts here?" Bronius argued back. Another sage, I guessed Zinzolin, rolled his eyes.

"I think N should be the one to determine Reshiram's hero. If anything, he deserves it," Ryoku agreed.

"My son will do nothing of the sort!" my father exclaimed. Apperently they had forgotten that I was at the head of the table.

"Sage Ghetsis, if I may say so; I believe that there isn't any other way… we have both stones, he'll be safe," Zinzolin said. The rest of the sages mumbled in thought.

"Enough!" Ghetsis said. "Let my son decide…" all seven of the sages turned in my direction expectantly. I raised my head, looking around to each one of them.

"How long would I have to find the hero, Sage Ghetsis?" I asked my father.

"I'll give you two years, is that enough time?" he asked.

"That is plenty of time, fa—I mean…Sage Ghetsis," I replied.

"Then it's settled, Our Lord N will have two years to find a trainer to play the role of Reshiram's hero. In that time he must convince that trainer that he or she is the hero," Zinzolin said.

"Oh it's a she…" I muttered. "It's definitely a she."

I could tell that Reshiram's hero was female. I couldn't explain how I knew if one were to ask me, but I would just say that I knew. I found that I knew a lot of things, about the world that is. Even though I grew up in this castle, I learned things. Books were a major source of this information, and with the castle's extensive library, that continues to grow year after year, I was able to gain all sorts of knowledge that I feel the outside world could never teach me. Things like properly feeding and caring for pokemon, and how to impress women (Ghetsis took that one from me before I could finish the chapter on something called intercourse). I also read many novels, some of them I could feel my face growing warm, so I would either skip the part, or read a different book. The list was endless, really. I had also read a few books about psychic interpretation and the art of being a psychic. I didn't consider myself one, but I did know a few things.

But the fact stood that I knew that Reshiram's hero was a girl. I didn't know her age, or her height, or even her name. Her gender was all I knew.

The day came in which it was time for me to head out on my two year journey to find the girl. I felt a bit nervous, wondering if this person would believe me when the time came to it. Would the prophecy be fulfilled? My friends would never have to take orders from awful, heartless, people again. This brought a smile to my face. I readied myself swiftly, knowing that any moment now, my father would be here to pull me away, and let my adventure begin.

I took my place among the crowd of people that had gathered in a confused manner, wondering what the commotion was all about. I smirked, knowing exactly what was going on. My father was about to state the plan for all to hear…

"My name is Ghetsis…" my father began slowly. "I am here representing Team Plasma and today ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about pokemon liberation," he said. This elicited some mutters from the crowd. I only smiled to myself, we were getting responses, which was good. "I'm sure that most of you believe that we humans and pokemon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other," he continued.

"Because we do!" A voice called out. I, as well as much of the crowd, turned to the boy who had called out the rash comment. I watched as Ghetsis skulked over to the boy. A girl, about his age was standing next to him, obviously afraid for him. Were the two travelling together?

"Do you really believe that's the truth boy? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans only _assume_ that this is the truth?"

"It IS the truth," he countered. I watched as the girl next to him put a hand on his shoulder as my father made his way back to the main square to finish his speech.

"Pokemon are subject to the selfish commands of trainers… they get pushed around when they are our partners at work… can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?" he asked directly. The crowd began to murmur again.

"Now ladies and gentlemen pokemon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called pokemon?" he asked.

The crowd murmured something that sounded like the word, liberation. "That's right! We must liberate the pokemon! Then and only Then will humans and pokemon truly be equal. I end my words today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and pokemon…and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention," he finished as the grunts behind him formed a block around him and left the scene. The crowd began to murmur and chat about what had just happened. I found myself drawn towards where the girl and the boy were still standing. Both of them were obviously confused.

"Cheren? Are you alright?" the girl asked the boy, Cheren.

"I need time to think Touko, I'll see you at the center in a bit…" he said, walking away, leaving me and Percy alone. So her name was Touko… interesting. I watched as Cheren wandered past me without a glance, muttering something that I couldn't make out. Suddenly, I heard the Snivy that was next to the girl speak to her.

" _Trainer, what's liberation?"_ it asked bluntly.

"Why did you just call me trainer?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

" _Because I don't know your name and I like it better than 'mommy'"_ the Snivy said.

"My name is Touko…" she said to the Snivy.

" _I prefer Trainer… Trainer what's liberation?"_ she rolled her eyes. I needed to hear more, so I made my way closer, standing a good 20 feet from her, but still close enough to hear.

"It's where they take you away from me and release you forever to fend for yourself," she said to it.

" _I don't want to be liberated…I want to stay with you trainer!"_ I was shocked, it was obvious that this girl had just received this Snivy, and yet… it wanted to be with her? I walked over to the girl, Touko, and looked down at the Snivy which was still clinging to her leg.

"Your pokemon... just now it was saying…" I began, examining the Snivy.

"Whoa dude, you talk too fast!" she said. "And yes I know he was talking. I was explaining to him what liberation was."

"Oh? You can hear it too then?" I asked, very intrigued by this girl. "I'm impressed… My name is N," I introduced.

"Just N? Is it short for something?" she asked.

"No, it's just N," I said, smoothly, knowing that I was lying to her.

"I'm Touko White, and this is my Snivy, Percy," she said in introduction. "I was asked to complete the pokedex and I just left on my journey today!"

"The pokedex, eh?" I questioned. "So you're going to confine many, many pokemon in pokeballs for that, then… I may be a trainer as well, but I can't help wondering…are they really happy that way?"

"I suppose it depends on how caring the trainer is…" she replied simply. "We're all different, we all raise them in our own way!"

"Thoughtful answer. Well, Touko is it? Let me hear your Pokémon's voice again!" I said, sending out a Purrloin, the one my father had provided to me.

"Wait what? You want to battle?" she asked, shocked. I simply nodded. There was an interesting aura about this girl.

"Okay… go Percy, let's take him down!" she called out. I gave a wry smile, nodding at the Purrloin to give a tackle attack. The Purrloin ran swiftly towards the Snivy, and before it could attack, Touko had given the order for Snivy to dodge and tackle, causing Purrloin to take a small amount of damage. Not enough to make her faint by all means. I gave the order for Purrloin to scratch the Snivy, and before it could dodge, it took some damage, wincing as it skidded against the stone path that we were battling on. Touko gave a surprised gasp.

"Percy come back!" she yelled, letting the Snivy return to the sideline. She pulled yet another pokeball from her belt and let out a Lillipup. The child dog gave a determined glare to his master, and then snarled at my Purrloin. I smirked.

"Scratch Purrloin," I said, letting Purrloin attack. This Lillipup was fast, because t avoided the scratch and clamped its teeth down on Purrloin's tail as it passed, doing some damage.

"Tackle Dante!" Touko yelled, letting Dante finish off my friend. Touko, now even more excited, welcomed the pup into her arms and congratulated him, letting Lillipup be just as happy as she. I returned the defeated Purrloin to its capsule.

"Good work Purrloin, thank you my friend," I said, making my way over to the excited victor.

"Congratulations, that was quite the experience, I'm glad to have made your acquaintance Miss White," I said, holding out my hand to shake her much smaller one. She took it gladly, and when she did I felt a sharp pain in my shoulders, it felt almost like a spark. I could tell that she felt it too, because of her following facial expression. I turned to leave.

"Hey wait!" Touko called out. I turned to her.

"Yes Miss White?" I asked.

"What did you think of that Ghetsis guy's speech?" she asked. I walked back over to her.

"I believe his word whole heartedly, I want to protect the pokemon, because they are my friends."

"But do you honestly think every trainer is like how he described? I can assure you that isn't the truth!" she said. I made my way back over to her.

"I used to think that , but now I see that there is at least one person who feels like pokemon are friends not tools. I must go now. I have a feeling that we will be meeting again quite soon Miss White," I said. And then I walked away and deeper into town.

 

I had found Reshiram's hero.


	3. Away From Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Description: Touko has a gift, the ability to speak with Pokemon. When Professor Juniper asks her to complete the pokedex, Touko sets off on the journey of a lifetime, and she meets a young man not too different from herself along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, back to Touko and her snarky Snivy. Yay!

 

**\/\/\/\/Speak\/\/\/\/**

_~"Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters." ~ Harry Callahan~_

**\/\/\/\/\/\/Chapter 3: Away From Home \/\/\/\/\/\/**

As I tried to get some sleep after my first day of being a trainer, I found myself thinking intently about the day. I had three pokemon with me now. A snarky Snivy, an affectionate Lillipup, and an overcautious Patrat. I found myself stroking Dante's head as he slept on top of my blankets in the pokemon center. Scout slept by the door protectively, and Percy slept on the opposite end of the bed from me. Then it hit me. This was the first night I had ever spent so far from home. I was on my own now. Suddenly I heard a knock at the door, and Scout was up already snarling at the door. Dante's eyes opened and soon he too was barking.

" _I'll protect you master_!" Scout said in between snarls. I threw the covers aside and picked up Dante in my arms and made my way over to the door, putting my hand on Scout's head to calm him down.

"It's okay Scout, stand down," I told him. I opened the door and was greeted by Bianca. She was wearing a pair of pink pajama pants that was decorated with all kinds of pokeballs, a plain white camisole, and a pair of Buneary slippers—not made from actual Bunearys of course. Her hair was up in pigtails. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my free hand and squinted in the light coming down the hallway from the main pokemon center.

"Bianca, what's wrong?" I asked sleepily. My blonde friend looked as if she was about to cry, her hair was messy and she looked really tired. Percy had woken up by this point, and he was staring at us from the bed.

"I-I- I miss my family…" she stammered, bursting into tears. "I've never—been away from home for this long…" I set Dante on the ground and took my distressed friend into my arms, rubbing her back.

"Oh, Bianca… I didn't think this would happen so soon. Come on, I know just what to do… Percy, you're in charge while I'm gone," I told him.

" _Ha! Hear that suckers, you have to do what I say_!" Percy boasted to Dante and Scout. I rolled my eyes as Bianca wailed into my shirt.

"Percy, I won't be gone too long… just go back to sleep," I told him. " _All_ of you…" Percy settled on the bed and grunted angrily. Dante grunted before jumping back up on the bed and settling by the pillow. Scout stayed on his pillow by the door, but nodded as I took Bianca and closed the door behind me.

"D-D-Did you just talk to your pokemon?" she muttered as we made our way down the hall. I looked around nervously; making sure other trainers hadn't woken up due to Bianca's wailing.

"I wouldn't worry about it, you're too upset to think straight," I lied through my teeth as we made our way into the main area of the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy immediately noticed us and came running around the desk with a worried expression on her features.

"Oh my, what's the matter?" she asked frantically, trying to see Bianca's face as she cried. I continued to physically console Bianca while I explained.

"It's her first night this far from home and she's a bit homesick," I explained. "We're both new trainers and left on our journey just earlier today."

"Where are you two from?" Nurse Joy asked. "Nuvema Town," I said. "I know it isn't too far from here, but even as kids I would always sleepover at her house. Her parents were a bit protective of her growing up." Nurse Joy took Bianca from me and I took a good look at the wet spot that had appeared on my shoulder. Man, that girl could cry.

"What's your name dear?" Nurse Joy asked softly, leading Bianca and I over to a bench by the video phones.

"B-B-B-Bianca…" she stammered. Nurse Joy looked up at me and wordlessly gave me an expression as if to ask what my name was.

"I'm Touko," I said. I sat down on the other side of Nurse Joy and continued to rub Bianca's back as she sobbed.

"It's okay dear, let it all out… I deal with this all the time from lots of different trainers. You know I remember one boy in particular who came in a year or so ago. He had the same problem except he started crying before going to sleep. What was his name… oh my, it seems I can't remember… It started with a T… and he had brown hair… and he was from Nuvema as well I believe," she said thoughtfully. Then it hit me.

"Was his name Touya?" I asked, disbelievingly.

"Ah yes! That was his name, Touya! But how did you know?" she said, directing her question at me. Bianca began to chuckle and hiccup.

"Touya is my older brother," I said. Bianca continued to giggle in Nurse Joy's arms. I began laughing too, we had known my brother for so long but I never pegged him as a homesick crybaby… Oooohhhh he'd be hearing about this one!

"Oh so you're the little sister he talked about."

"He talked about me? What did he say?" I asked.

"Something about how his sister was usually the one to get homesick and how he missed his mom… He was a lot better the next morning though, happy as can be, and my sisters call from time to time to talk about trainers they've met. He seems a lot stronger now and last I checked he was in Mistralton with some girl. Anyway, I'm sure you can catch up with him by Cross-Transceiver later," Nurse Joy said.

Just great Nurse Joy knew my own brother's progress better than I did. Bianca had pulled away from Nurse Joy and was laughing to herself.

"Are you feeling better, Bianca?" I asked her. She nodded. Nurse Joy's face settled with a smile.

"A little…" she sniffed. I sighed.

"You know what; I have a tea remedy that has been passed down through our family for years. It induces sleep and helps calm the muscles and nerves. If you get a good night's sleep, then in the morning you are rested and ready to move on. I can teach you how to make it if you want," Nurse Joy offered. Bianca nodded quickly and got up to follow Nurse Joy into the kitchen.

"Would you like some too Miss Touko?" she asked me.

"No thank you, I think I'll go back to bed. Goodnight Bianca, thanks Nurse Joy," I told them.

"Goodnight Touko, thank you for everything. You're such a good friend," Bianca said, hugging me. I smiled and made my way back down the hall to my room.

" _You really are a good friend you know…_ " a familiar voice said. I turned around in the dark and saw Percy staring up at me.

"Percy, I thought I told you to watch Dante and Scout," I replied. He shrugged.

" _They both fell asleep, and you've been gone a while…_ " Percy said. I rolled my eyes.

"You don't seriously think that I'd leave my bag and wallet behind at a pokemon center in the middle of the night, do you? I know I only became your trainer this morning, but that's kind of low."

" _I never thought that… Dante was a little worried though. He's sleeping now_ ," Percy responded.

"I'll talk with you guys in the morning, let's go back to bed now…" I told him sleepily. Percy nodded and we made our way back into my room where Scout had fallen asleep by the door frame, and Dante was back by the window. I smiled to myself and got under the covers. Percy settled down next to me on the bed.

"I thought you wanted to sleep at the foot of the bed."

" _Changed my mind…_ " Percy said before falling asleep like the other two. I stayed awake a few more minutes and before I succumbed to sleep I swore that I saw a bush of hair outside my window. And I had a feeling that Dante saw it too, because he had stirred slightly. Finally I closed her eyes and fell asleep for the night.

-0o0-

The next morning—Cheren, Bianca, and I had breakfast together in the Poke Café that rested by the mini mart. Cheren ate a bagel with Cream Cheese made from Moo Moo Milk. Bianca ate a breakfast muffin and an Oran Berry smoothie and I had a breakfast bar. We all sat around a circular table and I didn't know about my friends, but I kept staring at my pokemon who were enjoying bowls of pokemon food on the floor.

" _You are eating way too fast…you're going to get a belly ache!_ " I heard Dante tell Percy. My Snivy ignored this and continued eating.

" _You're going to get a belly ache,_ " he mocked Dante. " _I lived in a pokemon lab for the majority of my life. All we got to eat were these little hydrated food portions from the lady in a white coat. If we were good we'd get a bowl of pokemon food. But not anything this delicious! I feel spoiled. I'll eat as fast as I want!_ " Percy responded as quickly as he could before going back to his bowl of food. I giggled to myself before downing a carton of moo moo milk and gathering my bag.

"Where are you going Touko?" Bianca asked as I collected up my other belongings and put my cross-transceiver on my wrist.

"To Striaton City, I want to get an early start so that I can get my first gym badge today."

"So soon?" Bianca asked. "Can we come with you?" I looked down at Percy and Scout. Dante had scampered off to say hi to some other girl's Lillipup.

"Sorry guys. I think I'll go on my own for now. But I've heard that there are three gym leaders at Striation City, if we hurry we can all face them together. And then have dinner at the famous Battle Restaurant, to celebrate our first badge!" I suggested.

"I like that idea," Cheren added in. "We'll see you there then."

"All righty then, see you later then!" Bianca said. I turned and took out Dante and Scout's pokeballs. "Dante! Scout!" I called out. I watched as Dante bounded over and I patted its head.

"Ready to go you guys?" I asked all three of my pokemon.

" _Are we gonna battle some people? Huh? Huh_?" Dante asked excitedly.

"We'll battle whoever comes our way," I told him. "Dante, return!" I called, pointing his pokeball at him.

" _See you on the other side…_ " Scout said confidently as the mirrored laser set him in his capsule. I shrank the capsule and put them on my belt.

"Ready to take off Percy?" I asked my Snivy who was on his back, his tiny arms on his belly.

" _No… give me a second…_ " he groaned, happiness lacing his voice.

"I'll give you one minute or you're going back in your pokeball," I stated unwavering.

" _I'm up!_ " Percy stated quickly, standing beside me.

"That's what I like to hear. See you guys in Striaton City!" I told my friends. "Come on Percy, let's go." I began walking out of the pokemon center.

The automatic doors closed behind us as we made our way through town. I approached the gate that led to Route 2 and stared at it for a moment. "Well Percy, now begins the rest of our lives. Are you ready?" I asked Percy.

" _Shut up and go in trainer…_ " Percy said exasperatedly.

"I can put you away anytime I want you know…" I stated back, walking into the tunnel. Percy chased after me as I strode through the tunnel.

" _Y-y-you wouldn't do that… would you_?" he asked me. We exited the tunnel and onto route 2. My cross-transceiver began to ring at that moment.

"Hold that thought…" I told Percy as I hit the "answer" button on my phone. "'ello?" I greeted to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Touko!" my mother's voice and face greeted me.

"M-mom?" I stammered.

"Just calling to check in, how are things?" she replied.

"Things are just fine mom, we just had breakfast and now we're heading to Striation City."

"Are you and your pokemon getting along and enjoying your journey so far?" she asked me.

"So far so good mom."

"That's great. I'm going to hang up now, but you might want to turn around…" she said. Then the line died. I did as she said, lo and behold… there she was, walking through the gate.

"Hi darling!" she said.

"Mom what are you doing here? How'd you get here so fast?"

"I may have gotten a ride from an old friend. Anyway, I have another present for you… I probably should have given it to you before, but I forgot! Oops!" she told me, handing me a box.

"Wow! Running shoes? Thanks mom!" I said, opening the box and replacing my plain shoes with the new ones.

"I'm glad you like them sweetie, I actually bought them a long time ago and stashed them somewhere. I found them while I was cleaning yesterday after you left. I guess it's good to clean once in a while."

"Yeah mom… thanks," I said. My mom wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.

"You're never really alone sweetie, you have pokemon and friends and you are always in my thoughts. I hope you know that."

"I do mom, thanks. I love you."

"I love you too sweetie, enjoy the rest of your trip!" she said. And then she walked away back through the tunnel.

" _What's the difference between the shoes you were wearing before and the ones you are wearing now_?" Percy asked me, examining my new shoes.

"I really don't know…" I told him, tying the shoes tighter. "Come on let's get going before anyone else catches up with us… I do NOT need a tag along today. It'll slow me down," I told Percy. "Ready to run?"

" _What do you mean_ , **_run_?"** Percy asked before I took off through the tall grass. Percy came running up next to me, and I stared at him.

"You're fast," I praised.

" _Thank you very much_ ," Percy said in response. I stopped dead in my tracks. " _Why'd you stop_?"

"That kid… he's just, ah… standing there…"

" _Maybe he's waiting for someone_?"

"Maybe…" I said, approaching the kid. "Hey kid… what are you standing there for?" I asked him. He turned his head.

"Are you a trainer?" the kid asked, staring at me.

"Uh yeah…. Why?" I asked. The kid jumped back and pulled out a pokeball.

"Battle me!" he said sternly. I brushed past him.

"Uh...no," I said. He ran in front of me.

"We're both trainers! I challenged you! We have to battle!" he cried.

"I don't want to battle you kid," I told him.

"First off, my name is not kid. It's Jimmy! Second of all, when a trainer catches another trainer's eye, the battle begins!"

"Look, kid… I don't want to battle you! Get that through your skull!"

"What if there was money on the line?" he offered. I stopped.

"Very well, you win…" I told him rolling my eyes and pulled out Scout's pokeball.. "Go Scout, let's take him down!"

" _Let's do ittttt!_ " he said happily.

"Go my Patrat! Take him down!" the kid yelled. I couldn't help but scowl, he was way too hyper for my taste. Another Patrat joined us on the field, and I could automatically tell that it was stronger than Scout.

"Patrat use tackle!" he called angrily. I didn't even have enough time to call for Scout to dodge it and he took a lot of damage.

"Scout, use tackle too!" I called out. Scout hit head on, and Jimmy's Patrat only shook it off. Suddenly, two vines came from nowhere and hit Patrat against the ground.

"Hey that's cheating!" Jimmy said. "You can't do that!" I turned to Percy who had two vines emitting from its collar. "Percy, you can't do that!" I scolded him. "I can do what I want," slamming Patrat to the ground again, making it faint. Jimmy stamped his foot in the ground and returned his Patrat to its capsule.

"Pay up kid…" I told him, returning Scout to its pokeball. Jimmy grumbled and opened his wallet. "Here, this is how much I give trainers who beat me…" he said, handing me 112 poke dollars in bills. I put it in my wallet and he skulked off, most likely towards the pokemon center. I put the money in my wallet and sighed.

"That's barely enough to buy a soda pop now a days…" I muttered, putting away my wallet.

"When did you learn vine whip, Percy?"

" _After we battled that guy in town yesterday, I tried and was able to use it_ ," Percy explained. I felt my cheeks heating up at the thought of that guy we battled yesterday. " _What are you thinking_?" Percy asked me, looking up at me.

"Nothing, let's move on…" I muttered, feeling my cheeks heat up even more.

" _You're thinking about that GUY aren't you_?" Percy teased.

"I-I am not!" I defended, continuing down the path. Denying it only made me think about him more. His gorgeous green eyes, his mysterious attitude, his green hair, the weird chain around his neck…

" _You are SO thinking about him_."

"Percy, I swear to Arceus, if you say another word I am going to put you back in your Pokeball until we reach Striaton," I threatened.

Percy shut up.


	4. The Beginning of the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko has a gift, the ability to speak with Pokemon. When Professor Juniper asks her to complete the pokedex, Touko sets off on the journey of a lifetime, and she meets a young man not too different from herself along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay…Okay, I am back with another installment of Speak. Almost 3 YEARS LATER. I am so sorry for such a long wait, it started when I started up my game and realized that my BROTHER had gotten into it, not only beating the first gym leader, but got the Panpour too. So I had to start the game over entirely, as well as the chapter. Then I ended up in college and everything just kinda faded. My apologies. So here is the long awaited fourth chapter of Speak. And N has returned!

 

**\/\/\/\/Speak\/\/\/\/**

_~Acceptance doesn't mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there's got to be a way through it.~_

_~Michael J. Fox~_

**\/\/\/\/\/Chapter 4: The Beginning of the Truth\/\/\/\/\/\/**

The following morning came too soon as I was awoken by my handler, Daisuke. His grey and white Plasma Lieutenant’s uniform was wrinkled and covered in dust, most likely from his rest on the ground the night before. I woke slowly, my grogginess and soreness becoming evident as I sat up on the air mattress. The pressure in my back relieved itself as I stretched, my arms raising above my head and touching the rounded plastic roof of my tent. I made a mental note to talk to Ghetsis about renting a room at the Pokemon Center next time. The Grunts could sleep in the tents for all I cared, but I would not, if I could help it. I stared at Daisuke with sleepy eyes.

“Is there a reason you woke me up at the crack of dawn Lieutenant Himura?” I asked. The tiredness was evident in my voice. The man gave a single nod towards me. He was at least blocking the sun from my view, so I wasn’t blinded.

“The Sages are meeting this morning before the grunts wake, and they require your presence. Ghetsis commands that you get dressed and join them at the fire pit in the nearby clearing.” Daisuke reported in a deep baritone. I stared at him for a moment before falling back onto the mattress and covering my face with the green blanket that had kept me warm the night before.

“Tell Sage Ghetsis that as the King, I request more sleep, and therefore will not be leaving this tent until the sun is fully over the horizon,” I told him very seriously, closing my eyes and attempting to go back to sleep.

The relief of the extra rest was cut short as my favorite green blanket was pulled directly off of my form, leaving me exposed and cold. I sat up quickly, ready to reprimand Daisuke for such an action, but was met by the angered gaze of my father. I woke fully the moment I saw him, and I pushed back and away from him. I knew for a fact that he would not hesitate to hit me if I did not follow his orders. He tossed the blanket out of the tent.

“GET UP BOY!” he roared, his normally pale face a dark red. “YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO MISS A SAGE’S MEETING.”

I got up, only slightly shaking, and reached for my discarded trousers. I turned them right side out again and pulled them over my boxers. Next I reached for my black turtleneck and slid it on over my head. I turned to Ghetsis for a moment while searching for my outer shirt. Then I spotted it…it was balled up in his hand. I held out my hand to him, requesting silently for him to return it to me. When he refused to return it to me, I sighed. I grabbed a rubber band from my pocket and I tied up my unruly hair, reminding myself to brush it later. I slipped my hat on over it and once again held out my hand for Ghetsis to hand over my shirt.

“I would like it if you would return my shirt to me so that I may attend the Sage’s meeting,” I told him sternly. This time he placed the balled up garment into my open hand. I shook it out and slipped it on. I strode to the door of the tent and prepared to exit, but Ghetsis gripped my arm much too tightly for my comfort. I stared at him from under the brim of my hat.

“Let go of me Sage Ghetsis,” I barked.

“Do you think your rebellion makes you more dominant? Do you think that I will change at all just because you are taking some much needed responsibility? Don’t you be late to a Sage’s gathering again King N,” he said quietly yet still firm. Then he was gone. I stood in the open flap of the tent and stared at the rising sun before conceding and going to join my father and his cronies at the fire pit for the meeting.

-0o0-

The meeting dragged on for an hour as my father and the other 6 sages conversed about Ghetsis’ inspiring speech from the day before. Sage Zinzolin gave him nothing but praise for his expert speech, reporting that he had seen two trainers release their Lillipups into the wild shortly after we had gone to set up camp (one of them had been in tears, Sage Bronius added). Sage Rood spoke after Zinzolin’s report. He mentioned another speech that was scheduled in the town square in Striaton City at 2:00PM. Ghetsis thanked him, and then turned to me. Before he could say anything, Sage Giallo spoke up.

“King N. How is the search for the hero of Reshiram going? Did you find anything in town yesterday?” he asked in his slow, elderly voice. I turned my gaze to him.

“I have found her, Sage Giallo,” I stated. Instantaneously, chatter exploded among the seven men in the circle. I shut my mouth and observed the dirt, nudging it into a pile with my sneaker. I heard something like, “So soon?” and “How can he be certain?” Suddenly, Ghetsis cleared his throat, prompting the conversation to die. A moment of silence passed, and then Sage Gorm spoke.

“How can you be sure that it was the hero of Reshiram, my lord?” he asked. I looked at him.

“She could speak to Pokemon, just as I can,” I explained, remembering my conversation with her the day before.

_\-------_

 

_“And yes I know he was talking. I was explaining to him what liberation was.” I thought about her Snivy, and the way it clung to her leg. I thought about how she expertly executed the battle that we shared. And what we spoke of afterwards…_

_“Hey wait!”_

_“Yes, Miss White?”_

_“What did you think of that Ghetsis guy’s speech?”_

_“I believe his words whole heartedly, I want to protect the pokemon, because they are my friends.”_

_“But do you honestly think every trainer is like how he described? I can assure you that isn’t the truth!”_

\-------

 

“Believe me…” I said to the men as I picked up a pebble in my hand and let it roll around in my palm. I could feel the Sages’ gazes trained on me, “she is the hero of Reshiram…even if she is not yet aware of it,” I stood. “I intend to…keep an eye on her…for the next few days. If you’ll excuse me; I must take a walk…”

-0o0-

I stepped out through the wall of greenery that had separated the clearing and the Team Plasma camp. A small handful of grunts had awoken and were chatting quietly around a healthy burning fire with a grate and a pot over it. Something was cooking in the pot, but I didn’t bother looking at what it was. A couple of Purrloins and a Patrat were eating eagerly from plastic bowls of food that had been set out for them. One of the Purrloin, the one I happened to have used in battle the day before looked up at me and mewed. I walked over to it and rubbed lightly between his ears, applying light pressure. The purple cat meowed happily and as soon as I removed my hand, it went back to eating. The grunts raised their heads.

“Good Morning Grunts,” I said with a curt nod. The two men and two women around the campfire saluted in return to my greeting. I looked over at the Purrloin from yesterday. “Would you mind if I borrow one of your Purrloins? I am going for a walk, and I would like to keep a pokemon with me in case a persistent trainer insists on battling.” One of the female grunts, a redhead with freckles scattering her face raised her hand.

“The Purrloin you used yesterday was mine, King N,” she said timidly. “He took quite the liking to you.” I smiled at her. I already knew this information; however it felt good to hear that from another. “It would be a great honor if you choose to borrow him again today.” I walked over to the Purrloin. It had finished its meal and looked up at me expectantly.

 _“Will I be accompanying you again today?”_ it asked me in its sophisticated tone. I gave him a single nod.

“I hope you don’t mind,” I told it. The cat pokemon shook its head.

 _“Not at all, Mr. N.”_ I smiled at its response and patted its head again.

“Shall we depart then?” The purple cat nodded a couple of times before standing and joining me at my side. The Purrloin’s trainer stood and passed me a Pokéball, I knew it as the dreadful capsule that bound Purrloin to her.

“Just in case he gets wounded and you need to take him to a Pokemon Center. He does like the fresh air though,” she said with a bashful grin. I knew that she was right, despite how much I detested the capsules, so I took the small red and white container without hesitation, and attached it to my belt. “Have a good walk, King N. I assume that we’ll be meeting you in Striaton City,” she added after I had taken the ball.

“Sage Ghetsis plans to make another speech today at 2PM,” I told her. “He should be here soon to give you today’s schedule. I will be there, as you are expected to be.” The grunt nodded to express her understanding. “Thank you, my lord,” she said. “I know that you will take good care of Harvey.” I blinked. It took a moment for me to realize that ‘Harvey’ was the Purrloin that I had borrowed.

-0o0-

I made my way through the trees and out onto the dirt path. Purrloin, or…Harvey, as his owner had referred to him, followed close to my side. The sun had finally risen, and I could already tell that the weather would be favorable today. I walked leisurely along the path, avoiding tall grass so that the local Pokémon could still sleep. It was still early, after all. I was glad to have this time alone to think and organize my thoughts. It was rare for me to get time alone, so I was going to savor this time. It was silent, aside from the occasional call of a Starly. I walked for a good 20 minutes before Harvey said anything.

 _“You appear to have a lot on your mind,_ ” he said. I was about to respond when I noticed a boy standing at the edge of the path. It was 6:45 in the morning, what was he doing there? Harvey obviously noticed the trainer as well. “ _What on Earth? He’s just…standing there_ ,” Harvey said, voicing my thoughts without knowing that he had done so. I blinked, considering going over to him.

As I took a couple steps forward, I could see that the kid’s hand was hovering over the single Pokéball on his belt. He was itching to battle. I felt sick. This child had woken up, probably before the sun came up, and before he went about his day he had come to this spot to take advantage of innocent Pokémon, including his own. I needed to tell him this. He wasn’t doing himself or his Pokémon any favors. I walked over to the boy, seeing his hand clasp over his Pokéball.

“Do not waste your time, young man,” I said. “I have no intentions to battle you.” I could see the disappointment in his features as he dropped his hand to his side. “What is your name?” I asked.

“Roland,” the boy replied. “This is my Lillipup!” he said excitedly, releasing the puppy from its capsule. “I see you have a Purrloin! That’s really cool!”

“Oh…this Purrloin…” I said, looking down at Harvey. “He isn’t…” I stopped. “He belongs to a…friend of mine.” Roland nodded, beaming. What reason did he have to be so happy? “If you don’t mind my asking, Roland, what are you doing standing out here this early in the morning?” I asked, truly curious. The boy tilted his head.

“Well…I came out here to train my Lillipup!” he said. The puppy yipped happily. “Lots of trainers come by on their way to Striaton City! So I like to challenge them!”

“And does your Lillipup like being _used_ to challenge others?” I asked. I could feel bile rising in my throat. To think that this boy stood here all day, challenging anyone who came by. It was despicable.

“Well…I think so,” Roland replied.“We’re friends, Lillipup and I! I’ve had him for a whole year now. My dad caught him for me before he and my mom split up as a going away gift.” I could tell that Roland had some good memories with his father.

“Don’t you believe that your Lillipup would be happier in the wild, among its friends?” I asked. “Where it can be free?”

“I…I never thought about that…” Roland muttered, looking down at the ground. “I guess that…if that’s what Lillipup wanted, I would let him go. I want him to be happy…”

I wanted to say something to this boy about how Pokémon should not be given away as gifts, and that it was not right to simply use his Lillipup for battling, but my train of thought was cut short by a bump against my leg. I looked down to see that very Lillipup, prodding me with its head. I squatted down before it, rubbing its head. I could tell that Roland was looking at me, but I went ahead with my thoughts.

“Do you like being with this trainer?” I asked it. The Lillipup barked in response,

“ _Yeah! He’s very nice to me. He gives me food, and lets me play with the other Pokémon around here! His dad was nice too…my trainer has been very lonely since his dad left, so I am doing the best I can to make sure that he is never lonely!_ ”

I was taken aback. Before yesterday, I had never heard a Pokémon speak about its trainer this way. And now, this boy, Roland, and the girl, Touko, whom I had battled and spoken with yesterday were challenging everything I thought I knew about Pokémon. Everything I had come to believe. Their Pokémon truly cared about them. This couldn’t be right...

Ghetsis taught me everything that I knew about Pokémon. How they were never meant to be enslaved. They were meant to be free among their homes and families. They were never supposed to be captured and used like this! I had seen countless Pokémon who had been abused by their so called trainers. Starved, beaten, and treated like garbage! I had even seen ones who had been abandoned simply because they were not strong enough for the trainer’s liking.

I thought about my own Pokémon, Zorua. He was my best, and only true friend. He had been there for me since the beginning. He helped me get through the longest and hardest of days. He too, had been abused by his former trainer. I had believed that no other trainer could have a bond as close as the one I shared with Zorua.

_Until yesterday, that is._

I was once again drawn away from my thoughts, this time by the sound of a throat clearing. I looked up at Roland, who had been staring at me and Lillipup this entire time.

“He really likes you,” I said while standing up. “I have rarely seen such a bond between a Pokémon and its trainer. I must thank you, Roland.” The boy tilted his head, obviously confused by my statement.

“Thank me? What did I do?”

“Take good care of Lillipup and he will care for you in the same way,” I said with a nod. And with that, I walked past them and on to Striaton City.

**A/N: Well! There you have it. I went into this not knowing what would come out and now I realize where this story needs to go. I hope you guys will stick with me through this. By the way, Roland is the Youngster standing right outside Striaton. I decided that he wouldn’t be a mindless crone. Also, this takes place a couple hours before Chapter 3, since Touko faced off against Jimmy, the other youngster hanging out on Route 2 in that Chapter. I hope you enjoyed this!**


	5. Burn, Baby, Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko has a gift, the ability to speak with Pokemon. When Professor Juniper asks her to complete the Pokedex, Touko sets off on the journey of a lifetime, and she meets a young man not too different from herself along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in the year long hiatus from this fic, I realized how much it’s dragging. No wonder it’s taking me so long to work up the muse to even write this, let alone post regularly. So from here on out, I’m going to focus less on the actual story in the game itself, and work on adding some more creative stuff. I’m kinda thinking almost anime style writing now. This chapter is super long because there is a LOT to cover.
> 
> Also, I know that in the game you have to face Cheren for the second time BEFORE the first gym, but I decided to switch the events around a bit. I also edited the dialogue because Cilan literally says “I’m Cilan, I like grass-types!” Which sounds dumb in comparison to his brothers. So I fixed that a bit. I hope you guys like the direction I’m taking this story in!

\/\/\/\/ ** _Speak_** \/\/\/\/

_~ “Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are._ _” ~_

_~_ _Bernice Johnson Reagon_ _~_

  
\/\/\/\/\/ **Chapter 5: Burn, Baby, Burn** \/\/\/\/\/\/

I could see the entrance to Striaton City from where I stood. After defeating another trainer and his Lillipup right outside the gates, he too went to the Pokémon Center to heal his fainted friend. Perhaps Scout had done too much of a number on that Lillipup. Not that it mattered now.

I could feel my heart beating at a million miles per hour. Two days into my journey and I was already going for the first gym. It seemed surreal, almost like some crazy dream. I pinched my arm lightly. No, it wasn’t a dream. I wasn’t waking up in my childhood bed, I was still standing outside the gates to Striaton City.

“ _You’re hesitating,”_ Percy’s voice imposed. _“Why are you hesitating?”_

“I’m not hesitating,” I retorted. “I was about to go, I just wanted to take a second and…appreciate it.”

 _“That’s what hesitating is,”_ Percy retorted.

“Arceus, Percy, just let me have a moment. _One_ moment for me to savor my independence.” I could tell that Percy was about to speak, however Scout caught my attention when his ears perked up.

 _“I hear someone coming!”_ he said, turning around. I did the same, seeing a familiar head of blonde hair emerging from the nearby tall grass.

“Touko! Hey, Touko!” she called out to me. I couldn’t help but smile as she approached me. “Would you like to have a battle with me?” I bit my lip hesitantly, Scout and Dante were both exhausted already. Percy was okay for now, but I really needed to get them healed up.

“I…I don’t know, Bianca,” I told her. “My Pokémon are exhausted…”

The other girl’s bright green eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and her lip stuck out only slightly. I knew what this meant, the Bianca Super-Puppy-Dog-Face had made its appearance. I had never been able to resist that face. Every time she had used it for the past 10 years, I had caved in and given her what she wanted. I found myself wondering if Bianca’s parents ever fell for it.

“Pleeeease?” she begged. She clasped her hands together and stuck her lip out even further. “The Pokémon I caught have become a little stronger!” I looked down at Percy, who had a serious gleam in his eye.

“Okay, fine,” I conceded. “We can have a battle.”

“Awesome!” Bianca cheered. She took a Pokéball from her green bag and tossed it in the air. “Ready or not, here I come!” A Lillipup came from the ball, yipping happily.

“Percy, go! Use Leer!” I called. My partner leapt in front of me, doing as I said. It caught Bianca’s Lillipup off guard, successfully lowering its defense. Once it snapped out of its daze, Bianca called for it to tackle Percy.

“Percy! Dodge it!” I called. It was too late, Lillipup had hit Percy head on. “Okay, Percy use Vine Whip!” I commanded. Percy was all too happy to oblige. Bianca yelped, startled and reached into her bag for something. She pulled out what looked like a spray bottle. My friend raced over to her friend and sprayed it on his wound.

“There you go, Baby,” she cooed, stepping back. I saw an opportunity there, and pointed.

“Percy, now’s your chance! Use Tackle!” He nodded and ran forward, hitting the healed Lillipup and knocking it to the ground. Bianca yelled, running forward to return Lillipup to its capsule. She looked much more distressed now as she reached into her bag to pull out another Pokéball.

“O-ok!” she called, tossing the ball into the air. “Go! Watt!” The water type emerged, screeching excitedly. I could tell that he was ready to fight.

“Percy! You know what to do!” I called out. My Snivy practically read my mind. Two vines shot out, entangling the Oshawatt and hitting it against the ground, resulting in a one hit KO. Oshawatt wasn’t knocked out entirely, but it was enough to declare Percy as the winner.

“Aww…I couldn’t win…” Bianca said, kneeling down by her fallen friend and spraying a potion on him. “You did a good job Watt, don’t worry. We’ll get better!”

I beamed widely, holding out my arms to hug Percy. He simply shook his head.

 _“Not a chance. Even though I am happy that we won…”_ he said. I let my arms down, not worrying about it. I should have expected him to do that in all honesty. I stood, looking to Bianca. She was smiling despite her loss.

“Wow, Touko, you’re a tough cookie! Your Snivy is awesome! I’m gonna work hard with Watt and my Lillipup so that we won’t lose anymore! I’ll see you later, I need to head to the center.”

I watched as my friend took her fallen Pokemon into the city without hesitation. I was impressed that she had taken everything so well, but I couldn’t help feeling a little bad for her. Regardless, I couldn’t wait any longer. It was time to take the next steps of my journey. 

**-0o0-**

Much to my disappointment, the gym was closed when I arrived. The lunch rush had already concluded, and a notice on the door stated that the Battle Restaurant would reopen for dinner at 5PM by reservation only. It seemed that I would have to wait a bit to get my first badge. I wondered if Cheren had arrived yet, because I hadn’t seen him since breakfast in Accumula Town.

“Well, Percy, it looks like we’re going to have to wait to challenge the gym,” I told him, looking down at my partner. I could be almost certain that Percy was disappointed by the news. Even if he was, I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint a reason for him to be. I looked around the immediate area to see if there was anything I could do in the meantime. The red roof of the Pokémon Center caught my eye immediately and I thought about my exhausted Pokémon.

The Pokémon Center in Striaton was significantly different than the one in Accumula. For one thing, it was bigger. Perhaps it was to accommodate the influx of trainers who came to challenge the gym. There were several trainers in the main lobby, buying things at the Mini Mart, getting their partners healed up, or just spending time resting. I walked up to the main counter and smiled at the Nurse Joy who was standing there.

“Good Afternoon and Welcome to the Striaton City Pokémon Center!” she greeted. “Would you like me to take your Pokémon?” I nodded, reaching into my bag and taking out Scout and Dante’s capsules. “Okay Percy, hop on up,” I said to my partner. Percy did as I instructed and Nurse Joy took him into her arms.

“Thank you! We’ll have your Pokémon all fixed up in a jiffy!” Nurse Joy said. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

I nodded, “Yes please, I’d like to rent a room for the night.”

“Excellent! I’ll take your trainer card, please,” Nurse Joy stated. I handed over my ID and she swiped it in her computer. “Alright, the money has been deducted from your account. Your trainer card will let you into Room 13. I’ll have your Pokéballs dropped off as soon as your Pokémon are good as new!”

**-0o0-**

I entered the room I had rented and didn’t hesitate in throwing my bag down on the cot that was provided. I figured that a nap would be in order, seeing as I had an hour or so to wait until my Pokémon were all healed up. As I laid down on the cot and attempted to drift off, the loud cheery ringtone of my cross transceiver brought my out of my daze. I sat up and hit the “answer” button on the device when I saw the name on the caller ID.

“Touya?” I asked into the phone. I smiled, happy to see my brother’s face. “Did mom make you call me or something?”

 **“What, I can’t call my baby sister once in a blue moon?”** Touya responded with a shit eating grin. **“Okay fine. Mom called me earlier and told me that you, Cheren, and Bianca started your journeys a couple days ago. So I thought I’d call and check up on you.”**

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Touya had begun his journey nearly two years ago now. Since then he had been earning gym badges and attempting to take on the Pokémon League. Of course my brother, being the teenage boy that he was, had decided to take a break from his training to find a nice girl to settle down with.

“Well, thanks Touya. It’s actually really nice to hear from you,” I responded.

 **“So, where are you? I see a Pokémon Center room,”** my brother asked.

“I’m in Striaton. Just arrived about an hour ago.”

**“I should have guessed. Have you been to the gym yet?”**

“Unfortunately not,” I replied. “Closed until 5.”

 **“Do you plan to take the Battle Restaurant Challenge?”** Touya asked.

“Hopefully tonight during the dinner hour.”

**“Well, let me tell you something about Chili, Cress, and Cilan. They are brutal. They take advantage of a trainer’s weakness based on which type they started out with. Mom says that you picked out a Snivy.”**

“Yeah, that’s right. His name is Percy,” I said. Touya nodded. Unlike me, he was unable to understand Pokémon. I never knew how he felt about my ability.

**“Then you will be facing Chili. I have to warn you, Touko, he is the eldest and the strongest of the Striaton gym leaders.”**

“That’s good to know…” I said. Touya obviously hadn’t finished speaking.

**“I would suggest training your Pokémon in the Dream Yard to the east of the city. It will help you be prepared.”**

“Touya, I’ll be fine. Percy and Scout can handle anything. I believe in them,” I told my brother. Touya sighed. I recognized the look on his face. I had seen it way too many times growing up.

 **“Touko, I wouldn’t get cocky if I were you. You’ve been traveling for two days, your Pokémon won’t nearly be strong enough to take on a gym leader. You might get lucky, but I wouldn’t count on luck alone. You need to build trust with your partners before you put them to the test,”** Touya smiled at me. **“I believe in you, sis. Call me after your challenge, I can’t wait to hear how it goes.”**

“Uh…thanks Touya. I’ll be sure to call you,” I said. I considered his advice, and found myself wondering if I was truly ready to take on the gym. Percy, Scout, and Dante had all grown significantly stronger since they had joined me. I was certain that I was ready to face Chili.

 **“You appear to be deep in thought,”** Touya said. **“I know you’ll do great. We were taught well.”** I knew that he was referring to our father, who had taught us everything we knew about Pokémon. **“I have to go now. Skyla and I are going out to eat and I need to get a shower. Love you, Sis.”**

I smiled widely, thinking of my brother with a girl. I knew that he would treat her well, whoever this…Skyla, was.

“I love you too, bro,” I said. With that, the call ended from Touya’s end. As soon as I set my cross transceiver down, there was a light rap on the door. I went and opened it, seeing Nurse Joy with Scout and Dante’s poke balls. Percy was standing next to her, looking considerably better.

“Your Pokémon are happy and healthy!” Nurse Joy said happily. She held the capsules out to me and I took them from her. Percy walked into the room and hopped up onto the bed. “Have a great evening Miss White.” I turned to Percy, who had curled into a ball on the bed.

“Percy, I need you to be honest with me. Do you think we’re ready to take on the gym in this town?” I asked him, sitting on the bed. Percy perked his head up and tilted it.

_“Why do you ask?”_

“I spoke with my brother just now. He described how the gym here works, and we are at a disadvantage.”

 _“How so?”_ Percy asked.

“The leader is an expert in fire type Pokémon,” I explained. Percy stood and got closer to me.

 _“You don’t have to battle with me, you know. You have Dante and Scout to back you up,”_ he pointed out.

“Yes, but I’ve had you longer. You’re stronger than they are.”

_“But I am at a type disadvantage.”_

I slumped against the wall. Percy was right, and for once, I had no idea what to do. I could use Scout as my front runner, hoping that he would be strong enough to take on Chili’s Pokémon. However, it was as Touya said. I could not rely on luck alone to get me through this battle. Maybe I could wait a day, just…spend tomorrow training in the Dream Yard and prepare for the gym challenge.

“Percy, how do you feel about spending tomorrow training in the Dream Yard?” I asked, him. I decided that this would be the best option.

 _“The_ whole _day?”_ Percy groaned. _“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”_ I laughed lightly.

“Well, not the entire day, of course. But the majority of it. I want to be prepared.” Suddenly my cross transceiver started to ring. I could see a wince on Percy’s features.

 _“What is that awful noise?”_ he whined.

“It’s just my cross-transceiver, Percy. Chill,” I said. The caller ID read Cheren. I hit the “answer” button. “Cheren?” I spoke into the phone. My friend’s face appeared before me, with Bianca’s on the other half of the screen. “What’s up?”

**“Touko, Bianca, you’re not going to believe this! I just met one of the gym leaders at the Trainer’s School, and he told me that no one was lined up to challenge them tonight, so I got you, me, and Bianca slotted to take the Battle Restaurant Challenge tonight at 6PM!”**

**_“Whoa, Cheren! That’s awesome!”_** Bianca said, her face breaking out in a huge smile. I was unable to do the same. Damn Cheren and his over eager attitude…I wasn’t ready to take on the gym.

 **“Touko, are you okay?”** Cheren asked, bringing me out of my reverie. **“I thought you wanted to face the gym today.”**

“Oh yeah…well, I thought about it and I decided that I’m not exactly ready to face a gym leader…”

 **“Sure you are! You beat that weirdo in Accumula Town yesterday, and I’m sure those trainers around Route 2 wanted to battle as well, right?”** Cheren pointed out.

“Cheren, I’m at a disadvantage. Percy is the strongest Pokémon I have, and the Striaton Gym Leaders are prepared for that. I have to take on Chili.”

**“And Bianca and I aren’t at a disadvantage? That’s a load of crap and you know it, Touko. Good trainers use their weaknesses to their advantage and get the opponent to let their guard down.”**

I had to admit that Cheren had a point. He usually did, and he went through the trouble of setting up the gym challenge for all three of us. I couldn’t let him down.

“6PM, huh?” I considered. I looked down at Percy, silently asking if he would be okay. My partner looked contemplative for a moment. Then he looked at me with a determined gleam in his eyes. I could tell that he wanted to try. “Alright, count me in.”

 ** _“Awesome! I can’t wait!”_** Bianca said excitedly. **_“Wouldn’t it be awesome if we all got our first badges tonight?”_**

 **“I hope we do,”** Cheren piped up. **“Let’s meet in front of the gym at 5:15, we can get dinner before the battle.”**

“Sounds great. I’ll be there,” I said.  

**-0o0-**

“Welcome to the World Famous Battle Restaurant! I’m Cilan,” a man with vibrant green hair greeted my friends and me. A blue haired man stepped forward next, bowing politely.

“I am Cress,” he said. The final man, slightly taller than the other two and sporting bright red hair stepped forward last.

“And I am Chili. We will be your servers and opponents this evening.” I was impressed with how mature and professional they appeared. So these were the Striaton Gym Leaders. The rest of the building was bustling with customers and waiters and waitresses. It was amazing that we could get in at such short notice considering how busy it was. I supposed that challengers were some kind of exception. Perhaps the meal would even be on the house if we won the challenge.

All three of us ordered our drinks and meals, while a Pansage and a Panpour did various tricks to entertain the patrons. I figured that they belonged to Cress and Cilan, seeing as their hair color matched the type that they were an expert in.

All throughout dinner, I was extremely nervous. My Pokemon were still weak, and Snivy would be at a major disadvantage against Chili. I thought about what Touya told me that afternoon, about being truly ready before taking the challenge. I wondered what would happen if I decided to back out of the challenge…

I looked over at Cheren and Bianca. They were not looking at me, as they were paying attention to their entrees, but I could see it. In the reflection of Cheren’s glasses, I could see his eyes. He was determined, more so than I had ever seen before. I felt my heart skip a beat. My hands grew clammy and I could feel my face grow warm. I set down my fork and pushed my chair back, careful not to hit Percy in the process. Hearing my chair scrape against the ground got the others’ attention. Cheren and Bianca looked up at me.

“What’s up, Touko?” Cheren asked. His look of determination hadn’t faded, but I could see worry now as well.

“Nothing. I just need to use the restroom,” I said softly, not wanting to draw attention to my nervousness. Perhaps it was too late. Following the glowing sign hanging from the ceiling, I made my way to the restroom to splash some water on my face and calm myself down.

-0o0-

 _“What are you doing, Touko? Why are you so nervous? It’s just a gym battle! It’s not like you’re facing the damn champion or anything!”_ I thought as I splashed another handful of cold water on my face. The color was returning to my face, even though my heartbeat wouldn’t quit beating at a million beats a minute. I leaned against the counter, facing away from the mirror. _“There’s nothing to be nervous about. You’ve got this.”_

“I’ve got this…” I repeated out loud. As soon as I said this, the door opened and in walked Bianca. She had a worried expression on her face.

“Touko, are you okay?” she asked. “You’ve been in here a long time, Cheren and I are worried.” I rolled my eyes. By that she meant _she_ was worried about me. Cheren probably didn’t care either way as long as he got to fight Cress tonight. That would happen with or without me, I guessed.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Nerves just got to me is all.”

“Come on, Touko, I know you better than that. What’s going on?” I looked over at my friend. I couldn’t lie to her, no matter how much I wanted to. I wanted to say ‘I’m fine, let’s get out there’. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t.

“I don’t think I can go through with facing the gym leader tonight.” It was hard to admit this, but it felt good to get it off my chest. I looked at Bianca waiting for a reaction.

“Oh, you too?!” Bianca admitted with a relieved smile. My eyes opened wide.

“What…?”

The blonde girl wandered over and leaned against the counter to my right. “I don’t think I can go through with it either.”

“Really?” I asked, shocked that Bianca was on my side here.

“Cheren rushed into it far too quickly! How can he expect us to be ready to face a gym leader when we just got our Pokemon _two days ago_?!” She said. “I love Watt, but I don’t think he can stand up to Cilan. Not right now.”

“I feel the same way with Percy. I know he’s powerful, but he can’t stand up to a fire type right now. It’s not fair to him.” An awkward silence hung between us. We were certainly in agreement that we weren’t ready to face a gym leader, but Cheren seemed so determined, so confident. How could we let him down like this?

“So what are we going to tell Cheren? He’s so excited to face the gym leaders together tonight…” Bianca said, looking forlornly towards the door to the bathroom. I thought about this for a minute. I couldn’t rely on luck alone. Bianca couldn’t rely on luck alone to pull this off. But Cheren was expecting us to fight alongside him. I thought about what Cheren had said earlier on the phone.

**_“Good trainers use their weaknesses to their advantage and get the opponent to let their guard down.”_ **

Ultimately, he was right. Percy was smart, he could handle it. Maybe.

“Against my better judgement…” I said hesitantly. “I think we should try. We can’t let down Cheren like this…we just can’t. I know we’re nervous, but we can’t downsize ourselves. We’re strong, right?” Bianca seemed uncertain, but she eventually nodded.

“We can at least give it an honest try, right?”

“R-right!” Bianca affirmed with a small smile.

“We can prepare better for the next battle. Who knows what’ll happen. Maybe they aren’t as strong as we think!”

I didn’t know at the time how wrong I was.

-0o0-

Bianca and I returned to the table, significantly more confident than we were when we had left. Cheren had been waiting for us, and upon seeing us return, he smiled.

“You guys okay? You were gone a really long time.”

“We’re fine, Cheren!” Bianca chirped. “We’re ready to face the gym leaders.” Cheren’s face broke out in a smile. Suddenly from behind us a familiar voice sounded.

“Glad to hear it! We’re ready to face you, too!” We all turned to see the three brothers standing behind our table. It was Cress who had spoken.

“We’ll give the patrons a show to remember!” Cilan added.

“If you three would please select two Pokémon and join us on the arena stage,” Chili finished, gesturing to a large arena that was situated at the front of the dining room. Cheren couldn’t run up fast enough, two capsules already selected for his battle. Bianca, only having two capsules of her own followed suit. I looked between my two capsules and Percy. I decided that Dante would be a better option for now, since he was slightly more powerful.

“Alright, Percy. You ready to go?”

 _“I was **born** ready!” _He said, joining me as I went to catch up with my friends.

As soon as I took my place on the center right of the area, I heard a mechanical whirring. The arena jerked suddenly and started moving towards the center of the dining room, the tables that were in our way parting a way for the arena. The patrons seemed surprised, but eager to get such close up seats to the action. I looked around, taking in the new surroundings. This would be like no battle I had ever experienced before.

-0o0-

Deafening cheers filled the dining area as the stage locked into place with another jerk. Shortly after, the three gym leaders hopped up onto the platform, taking their places across from each of us. So _this_ was the Battle Restaurant Challenge. My grip tightened on Dante’s Pokeball as I made eye contact with Chili. He seemed completely calm, ready even. Unlike me, I was shaking in my running shoes. Could he tell? Would he take advantage of my nerves and pummel me? Or could I overcome this and emerge victorious. I liked the latter option better.

All of a sudden, the green haired man’s voice rang out throughout the restaurant, as if he was wearing a microphone, even though it didn’t appear that he was.

“Good Evening, one and all!” he said. “Welcome to the Striation City Battle Restaurant!”

Chili spoke next, he too speaking loud enough for all to hear. “I am Chili! I light things up with fire-type Pokémon!” Some whooping and hollering could be heard among the patrons of the restaurant.

“I am Cress,” said the much calmer bluenette to his right. “A water-type specialist!”

“And I am Cilan, I am fond of grass-type Pokémon!” Cilan finished for the three of them. After the cheering died down, Cress continued for the three of them.

“We have a real treat for everyone tonight, _three challengers_!” The cheers picked back up again, and I shared a glance with Bianca. She too looked nervous. I looked over at Cheren, who did not look nervous at all.

“And by our luck, these three all chose a different type of Pokémon as their first companions. Therefore, we can all challenge them at once!” Chili said. Then, one of the waiters stepped into the arena and took his place at the referee’s spot. He spoke next.

“The rules of this this three on three battle is simple. Each person has two Pokémon to use. The first person to render their opponent’s Pokémon unable to battle first is the winner!” said the referee.

 _Well, duh. That part was obvious…_ I thought with a small scowl. _Who doesn’t know the rules of a Pokémon battle?_

“However, this is no ordinary battle. This is officially sanctioned by the Pokémon League! Therefore, each challenger who defeats a gym leader will be presented with a Trio Badge as a sure show of their strength!”

I adjusted my stance and prepared to release Dante onto the field. Chili practically had fire in his eyes. With a smirk, and a wave of a flag from the referee, the battle began. Chili pulled a Pokeball from his apron and in a beam of light, a Lillipup appeared on the field. It barked energetically.

“Yeeow! It’s time to play with fire!” Chili taunted. “I’m the strongest of the brothers you know!”

“So I’ve heard,” I snarled. “Go! Dante!” I released my own Lillipup from his capsule. The little puppy looked around the large arena, shocked at how big it was. Then he saw the other Lillipup across the field. Bolting behind my legs, he cowered.

“Dante, what are you doing!?” I asked, turning around and crouching by him.

 _“Mommy, I’m scared. That Lillipup is bigger than me! He is really scary!”_ Dante barked, occasionally looking over at Chili and his Lillipup. I looked as well, Chili’s Pokémon _was_ bigger than my own…perhaps I really was in over my head.

“Well then let’s show him how being smaller isn’t a problem, huh?” I picked up my friend and set him in front of me. “It’s okay, Dante. We’ve got this.” Seeing that I was finally ready, the referee waved his flag.

“BEGIN!”

“Alright Lillipup, work yourself up!” Chili commanded. With a loud bark, the puppy suddenly seemed even more powerful than before. I could see Dante’s eyes opening wider.

“It’s going to be okay, Dante! Now quickly, while your opponent is off guard! Bite him!” Dante leapt forward and started sprinting towards the other end of the field. He bit down on the other Lillipup, but it barely fazed the opponent. With a shake, Dante was dislodged and practically thrown across the arena.

“Now, Lillipup! Use a bite of your own!” Chili yelled. Before I could even call for a weakened Dante to dodge the attack, the larger of the two puppies clamped his teeth down on Dante. He let out a weak yelp as he tried to throw Chili’s Lillipup from him. When Dante finally escaped, he had taken a significant amount of damage.

I couldn’t help but look from side to side. Bianca and Cheren were already doing better than I. I watched as Cress let a Panpour out onto the field. So Cheren was already that far? I shook my head.

Chili wasn’t waiting for me to get back in the game, he simply called for his partner to attack Dante again. That’s when I snapped my attention back to my own battle.

“DANTE! USE TACKLE, RIGHT NOW!” I called frantically as Chili’s Lillipup lunged for yet another attack. Dante let out a bark and lunged as well. Dante successfully landed his attack, doing some damage, but unfortunately the impact left him panting, tired.

“Alright Lillipup! Finish it off with a bite!” Chili commanded. The larger dog did as he was told and bit, only slightly down on Dante. He obviously felt bad for hurting a member of his kind so badly. I walked out onto the stage and picked up Dante, cradling him in my arms.

“The challenger’s Lillipup is unable to battle!” I heard the referee say. As if that wasn’t overkill. I sighed and turned to Percy, who was waiting eagerly on the sidelines.

“Go Percy. Finish it off!” I commanded. Percy nodded, obviously ready to teach this Lillipup a lesson. I stepped back and let Dante go back into his capsule to rest. On either side of me, Bianca and Cheren had _both_ finished their battles and _both_ had emerged victorious. All eyes were on me.

“Percy, use vine whip!” I called out, suddenly reinvigorated. Twin vines shot out and hit the Lillipup with surprising force, knocking it out instantly. I supposed that it helped that he was already weakened, however it felt good to ‘avenge’ Dante. A deafening cheer erupted from the audience when the referee declared that Chili’s Lillipup was no longer able to battle. It felt good.

“Good Job, Touko!” Bianca said excitedly. Cheren said nothing, he just smiled.

“I won’t let you get away with that!” Chili said, a smirk forming on his face. “You got lucky. Now can you take on this…?” He pulled a second capsule from his apron.

“Go, Pansear!” A beam of light, and a red monkey like Pokémon emerged. It looked surprisingly similar to Chili. This would be my end if Percy couldn’t pull through. But I believed in him.

“Alright Percy! Start out with another vine whip! Avoid the fire!” I called out. Percy nodded wordlessly, and once again the vines shot out, ready to hit. They were faster than I had ever seen them go before, wrapping around the Pansear and slamming it to the ground. But I could see the look on Percy’s face. The heat radiating off our opponent was a sign that something _big_ was coming.

“PERCY QUICK, GET BA—” but it was too late. With one quiet word from Chili, Pansear became wreathed in white hot flames as they erupted from its body. Percy let out a cry of pain as the vines retracted. The heat from the move was too much for Percy, and he fainted, right on the field where he stood.

_No._

“Snivy is unable to battle!” the referee called over the roars of the crowd.

_No. This can’t be happening._

“The winner is Chili!”

_I lost._


End file.
